Vodafone has launched a new social tariff that will slash broadband bills for Brits being hit hardest by the cost of living crisis.
Those on certain benefits, including Universal Credit, will qualify for the cheaper Vodafone Essentials Broadband tariff.
This package is priced at £12 per month for 12 months.
It means thousands of existing customers could make a saving of £10 a month, or £120 a year, when compared with Vodafone's current cheapest market rate broadband deal.
This is the Vodafone Fibre 1 deal costing £22 a month, or £264 over 12 months.
The cheaper plan will offer access to the Fibre 1 or Full Fibre 1 package with average download speeds of 38Mbps.
Brits receiving the following benefits will qualify for Vodafone’s cheapest broadband:
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Job Seekers Allowance
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Universal Credit
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Employment and Support Allowance
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Disability Allowance
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Personal Independence Payment
Eligible customers won’t have to pay any fees when they set-up or if they decide to leave at any point, and won’t be subject to in-contract price changes.
After 12 months, Vodafone will assess whether or not customers still qualify for Vodafone Essentials broadband.
Those that still qualify will have their contracts extended.
Customers who no longer meet the requirements can choose from any of Vodafone’s other broadband plans, or leave without charge.
The broadband provider is also lending a helping hand to small business owners, offering free broadband for a year to help mitigate rising costs.
In comparison, Virgin Media O2 has just cut the price of its social broadband tariff but it is slightly pricier at £12.50 per month.
Social broadband tariffs from BT starts at £15, while prices start from £20 if you go with Sky.
TalkTalk is giving jobseekers six months of broadband for free if you're on Universal Credit - but you need to ask your JobCentre to put you forward for this deal.
Ahmed Essam, Vodafone UK CEO, said: “We are launching Vodafone Essentials Broadband at just £12 a month, the cheapest on the market, and 12 months free broadband for small businesses.
“Vodafone is the only network provider to offer social tariffs across fixed and mobile, meaning eligible customers can access mobile and broadband connectivity for 72p a day.
“These new tariffs complement VOXI for Now and the 750,000 free SIMS we’ve donated so far as part of our everyone.connected programme.
“We’re on track to meet our commitment to donate a million connections by the end of this year and will continue to put the cause at the heart of our business until the problem no longer exists.”
The news comes as media watchdog Ofcom revealed millions of people on benefits are overpaying their broadband bills, as firms are failing to promote the deals properly.
Only 3.5% of those eligible for cheaper broadband tariffs are benefiting from them, says Ofcom.
This means around four million UK households could be getting cheaper broadband, but only around 150,000 people are.
